


The Only One

by Tarn_Liberated



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-21 20:22:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1562840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarn_Liberated/pseuds/Tarn_Liberated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You can love someone so much...but you can never love people as much as you can miss them.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Only One

**Author's Note:**

> Joor = hour  
> Solar cycle = month  
> Stellar Cycle = year

Starscream aged beautifully. At least, in Megatron’s opinion. As the decades grew on and the war stretched into eternity his Air Commander’s features had grown a bit harsher. His smooth curves had grown an edge to them, the charming planes of his faceplates had an angle and the plating darkened. His ever thinking optics hadn’t changed though. The sense that he always planned one step ahead was a constant throughout the stellar cycles.

Megatron had never even noticed something was wrong. The reality struck him when Thundercracker and Skywarp were forced into retirement by Hook. When he demanded an answer the Constructicon just motioned to the two. Megatron stared at them as if he had never seen them before. Their frames were covered in scars and some parts faded out to reveal the silver armor beneath. They had aged. Aged by millennia in that moment and Megatron couldn’t understand why he hadn’t noticed. They were so much younger than him though. He could remember Starscream poking him in the chassis and reminding him how much older he was and— _Starscream_.

Megatron fled the med bay and ran to see his Seeker, his spark swelling in his chest ten-fold at the thought that the same might be true for his SIC. Starscream was stretching in their shared quarters and Megatron staggered. It was true. His beloved Seeker had seemed so much older than before and had the same trademarks as his trine. At first he was furious, how had he not realized something so obvious. How could he not see the years that had taken possession of his officers? He spent the night fawning over Starscream. He would touch his frame and hold him close and tell him how important he was whenever possible after that. After all, if Starscream was growing old in years then what could be said for him? Although he had no heir to take over once he passed, he was sure his army would continue without him, without Starscream or any of his officers to lead them into battle. They were strong.

Time had taken Shockwave from him. He traveled to the scientists lab and found him with Soundwave trembling nearby. Megatron had tried rousing the mech from his eternal slumber but couldn’t. Not even after he screamed at him and shook him hard enough to break something. He buried him on the planet near his lab and Soundwave hadn’t spoken for a few solar cycles after. When his third in command lost his cassettes due to injuries on the battlefield Megatron knew there wasn’t much to be said for the host mech. He stayed with the TIC as a silent guardian until he passed from a broken spark. Megatron buried him with his cassettes.

Megatron had to replace the positions with younger, newer models. Soldiers who had never had experience with death and gore and horrors from their time serving. They would never be as good as those they replaced. The bustling scientists working on new weapons and armor and vehicles would never be as brilliant as Shockwave. The smaller spies that crept along the shadows and reported to him with perfectly written information would never be as efficient as Soundwave or his cassettes. He felt like he had been betraying his long-time officers but knew it had to be done.

He met with Hook and asked him about his soldiers deaths and why the medic hadn’t retired. The Constructicon explained vaguely about how he was linked to the other combiners through a bond so powerful that it shared their spark energy and they would live longer than normal mechs, though his spark would extinguish before long, as everyone’s would. Well, he was at least glad that he would have another to speak to for a while. He decided to bite the bullet and ask the medic to run a scan and see when he would begin to run down as well. Hook had shown him the screen and explained to him what he was looking at. At first, Megatron denied it, such a concept was impossible and ridiculous. But after a good while of sitting and thinking he realized it was true.

Megatron wasn’t aging.

His system had run as efficiently as it ever had and despite the considerable amount of cosmetic damages he was perfectly healthy. He had doubts. No mech was immortal. Eventually every bot ran down and their spark would fade to go to the Well of Allsparks. He was no different than any other Decepticon on the ship—his similarity with others was what spurred on his Cause. But no matter how many times he ran a scan or performed tests, Hook had told him he was just as he was a millennia ago. Every single time. Before he left, Hook informed him that according to his past rules Starscream was to be discharged. His trine stayed on the ship but were denied access to actual battles. Megatron gave him a curt nod and left to find his mate.

Starscream had refused, of course, and told him he was still fit for duty. He flaunted his agility and power, daring Megatron to force him to step down as Second In Command. Megatron shuffled him into their berth and spoke to him for joors, telling him how he wasn’t going to make him step down until the very end and he could stay on the ship until they found a place for him to live where he was safe from the Autobots. Starscream wasn’t pleased, begrudgingly telling him how it seemed nearly _fake_ with his title only being in name.

Several more stellar cycles and Megatron had built a tower for the Seekers on Cybertron. He still denied the possibility of his immortality and sat on the roof watching Starscream and his trine elaborate perform maneuvers. More cycles and maneuvers shown to Megatron had him catching onto the way they slowly began to fall out of sync. Their order was no longer close-knit, but spaced out a bit farther. There was a delay in their turns and arches.

Thundercracker was the first to go. Megatron would forever remember hearing Skywarps mourning wails come from the top of the tower. The remaining fliers cried over their blue mate until Skywarp followed his bondmate four cycles later, curled up on top of his mates grave. Starscream curled up to Megatron and cried against his chassis. Megatron could feel every bit of pain come from his beloved and did whatever possible to make him feel better. There were times when he felt their bond waver and nearly break. Starscream’s broken spark too much for him to bear on his own and Megatron struggled to support him.

Reality was crushing him with every faded spark and he was forced to accept that he wasn’t going to die alongside his bondmate. Starscream was growing older with every cycle, closer and closer to seeing Primus that Megatron felt his spark stutter at the thought of watching Starscream die. He wasn’t going to go with him. He was going to be left behind and alone and have to bury the Seeker he had grown to care about.

Starscream refused to fly. His wings drooped down and his gaze skyward, hungering for something he refused himself and Megatron sat next to him and pressed his face into Starscream’s neck. “Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t, my Lord.” His SIC told him softly, shuttering his optics and nuzzling his faceplates.

Megatron grabbed his face and brought their foreheads together. “Promise me.” He snarled, vocalizer spitting static for a moment. “Promise me you won’t leave me behind.”

Starscream laughed at him and pulled him into a protective embrace. “I promise.”

Megatron stayed awake through the night and felt their bond disintegrate until nothing was left. He pulled Starscream into his lap and held him one last until he picked him up and cradled him against his chassis. He buried Starscream next to his trine and sat there for joors, staring at the grave markers.

He felt nothing. He had nothing left and in this vast expanse of the universe he doubted there would ever be anything again.

**Author's Note:**

> FANTASTIC art made by WhatIfIAm on tumblr! Can't thank you enough!  
> Go check out their stuff!!  
> http://whatifiam.tumblr.com/post/99295913629/the-only-one-part-1  
> http://whatifiam.tumblr.com/post/99296152794/the-only-one-part-2


End file.
